When Aureliano told her, Pilar Ternera let out a deep laugh, the old expansive laugh that ended up as a cooing of doves. There was no mystery in the heart of a Buendia that was impenetrable for her because a century of cards an experience had taught her that the history of the family was a machine with unavoidable repetitions, a turning wheel that would have gone on spilling into eternity were it not for the progressive and irremediable wearing of the axle.” (p 396)
With a tone of nostalgia amalgamated with a metaphor describing the family’s past as a machine, Gabriel Garcia Marquez explores the notion that the Buendia family is spiraling downward towards destruction. As GGM describes the family with “unavoidable repetitions,” he shows how the family has been characterized by repetitions, a characterization that has grown to define the family’s past and present lifestyle. The tone of nostalgia is reinforced with the appearance of Pilar Ternera, as she reminisces on the past repetitive behavior of the Buendia family. Finally, the last line describing the repetitions of the Buendia family as a “turning wheel” that was only stopped by the “irremediable wearing of the axle,” evokes a strong curiosity from the reader. When reading this line I interpreted that the repetitions of the Buendia family, and the repetitions in Macondo would have continued to repeat themselves had the wheel (Buendia/Macondo) not been worn down. This idea of “wearing down” relates back to the repression of false memories, the four-year rains, and fatal solitude. This leads me to wonder if GGM is suggesting that the state of the Buendia’s and Macondo is irreversible, and if so, if Chapter 20 will end in the ultimate deterioration.
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1 comment:
I thought that this was a very interesting passage within the story thus far as someoe finally notices the repitition that happens in the story. Pilar Ternera has been observing Macondo for a large amount of time and knows it well enough to realize that the Buendias have a very predictable way of acting. I feel as thought this is a possible foreshadowing to the Buendias as a whole.
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